Argentina Soccer

Boca held by Fluminense in first leg epic

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tn_2008-05-29T032216Z_01_BAS17_RTRIDSP_2_SOCCER-LATAM-LIBERTADORES <i><u>Boca held by Fluminense in first leg epic</i></u>


Boca Juniors were held to a 2-2 draw in their semi final first leg Copa Libertadores match against Fluminense. The tie played at the Cilindro de Avellaneda stadium (instead of the Bonbonera after a match official was struck by an ice cube in an earlier match) The contest that most fans and pundits wanted as a final, didn’t disappoint.

The home side tried to take the impetus from the off, pushing forward as often as possible to get an opener. However the Fluminense defense stood firm, absorbing the early pressure before delivering some sharp counter attacks of their own.

After this initial burst the game became tighter and the possession more even. Flu began to take the game to Boca but with little luck, the final ball just lacking the right quality.

This was something not missing from Boca’s game when in the 11th minute Rodrigo Palacio crossed from the right to Argentina Soccer favourite Juan Roman Riquelme to finish with his usual panache.

Unfortunately the phrase that you are at your most vulnerable when you have just scored was true for Boca as Fluminese equalized just four minutes later when highly rated defender Thiago Silva finished with a powerful header. Two minutes later and Boca were back on the attack with Cristian Chavez unluckily striking the woodwork from range.

From here until the end of the half the quality of football was up there as the best seen in the tournament in the last few years as both Boca and Fluminense created many chances playing with great skill and style.

The second half maintained the unusual pace that is often missing in the South American game with Boca slowly gaining the upper hand and the majority of the chances. The offensive style of the defending champions eventually prevailed when in the 64th minute a Juan Roman Riquelme free kick was deflected past goalkeeper Fernando Henrique to the disappointment of the Brazilians.

Once again Boca couldn’t hold on to the lead and in the 76th minute Thiago Neves capitalized on some dreadful goalkeeping, volleying home from long range to send the away fans wild. After the equalizer Boca yet again pushed on to grab a late winner but Fluminense defended strongly and the match ended 2-2.

So with the second leg to be played next Wednesday Fluminense take home advantage and will be now seen as the slight favourites particularly as they will be playing at their legendary Maracana stadium with an possible attendance of up to 95,000 fans.

In the other semi final match Liga De Quito grabbed a vital away draw against Club America in front of 100,000 fans at the Azteca, Mexico City. The Ecuadorians will now look to use the second leg at home to their advantage next week.

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Tevez dropped from Argentina squad

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Manchester United striker Carlos Tevez has been left out of the squad for the upcoming friendlies against Mexico and the USA. Tevez has been excluded from Alfio Basile’s teamsheet since his dramatic sending off for an off the ball incident with Colombian defender Ruben Dario during last November’s World Cup qualifying match.

The red card has ruled him out of the next qualifier on June 15th in Buenos Aires against Ecuador. Although if selected he could make a return for the crunch match against Brazil only three days later. The Argentina Soccer star who has just recently completed the double with Manchester United admitted recently that he was “physically exhausted” after a long season where he has played nearly 50 games for the European champions.

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Messi planning to make Beijing

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Lionel Messi has announced that he plans to play for Argentina at the Olympic games this August in Beijing. Instead of playing in the qualifiers for the Champions league with Barcelona.

“It is up to me to decide and the Olympic Games are something I will never be able to play in again. I am very excited at the prospect,” The Argentina Soccer star admitted that he hadn’t informed his club but that he’d be surprised if there would be a problem. “We don’t know who we are going to be playing yet (in the qualifier) but Barcelona don’t depend only on me to win games. I think the club and the fans will understand,”

A disappointing campaign for Barcelona, finishing 3rd and without a trophy for two years means that the club miss out on automatic qualification and will have to play a 2 legged qualifier on August 12/13 & 26/27 if they want to play in the group stage. The Olympic football tournament (in which Argentina are currently champions) takes place between August 6 to 23.

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